Worlds Apart
by Cant-get-enough-twilight
Summary: Two people meet in unusual circumstances. Edward, a heartbroken and lonely soul, and Bella, this strange and curious creature whose past holds more secrets than Edward might be ready for. But he isn't willing to give her up so easily. More inside.
1. A Haunting Past

Two people meet in unusual circumstances. Edward, a heartbroken and lonely soul, and Bella, this strange and curious creature whose past holds more secrets than Edward might be ready for. But he isn't willing to give her up so easily. Bella finds that the more time she spends with Edward, the more she feels she is destined to be with him. But what she is seems it will only tear them apart. Edward refuses to allow them to not be together and will fight to the death to be with her if that is what it takes.

**A/N**

**So, this is a new idea that I came up with and I wanted to try it out, just to see what people think. I'm curious to see what the reactions will be so don't be afraid to let me know. There will be some different sibling pairings but just go along with it, you may enjoy it : ) Keep in mind, everything isn't what it seems. And there are no vampires in this story, but it isn't all human : ) **

Today was Alice's birthday. My brother and I were planning to take her to see her favorite play, though I can't exactly remember what it was. I scooped up my gifts for Alice and grabbed my hand bag. I was sure I was forgetting something, but that feeling never seemed to leave me.

"Bella? Are you coming or not? The show will be starting soon."

I ran out of my room in headquarters and down to the lobby where my brother stood by the open door, waiting for me.

"Where's Alice?"

"She is meeting us there, now come on, we're already late." Jasper responded. Alice was Jasper's "case". She was a lovely girl and I couldn't see why she would ever need one of our kind. Jasper never went into detail about what happened with her but I didn't know her circumstances or why we were called to this particular place. Alice is the second human Jasper has had to help, that happens occasionally with our race, but I've never been called to help someone, and I've been around for years. Though you couldn't tell just by looking at me.

Jasper and I ran to his car, his brand new Range Rover. He only got it because Alice talked about always wanting one, so if we ever need to see her, that's what we drove.

"You look nice." I told him sincerely. Back when we were growing up, long before we stopped aging, all the girls seemed attracted to him. It seems that if he allowed himself to be seen by the humans, the girls still were still attracted to him.

"Thank you. You look beautiful, as always." He leaned over and kissed the top of my head, then cranked the car. "Buckle up." He said with a laugh. As if a seat-belt would protect me? We both ignored his comment, neither one of us buckling.

"So what show are we seeing again?"

"Les Miserables." Jasper said matter-of-factly. I groaned.

"Do we really need to see something so depressing?" I complained even though I knew it was useless.

"It's something Alice wants to see. She really needed time out of the house. Who am I to deny her a small request?" In truth, I loved Les Miserables. I remember when Victor Hugo published the play in 1862, and I also remember when he died. But this play, this work of art was something that held a delicate piece of me. I tried, with difficulty, to put the thoughts that were threatening to ruin me out of my head. Jasper must have noticed, he grasped my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I forgot. I'm so sorry Bella. If it's too hard for you, you don't have to stay."

"Don't be silly. I want to help Alice just as much as you do. Besides, there's nothing wrong." Jasper gave me a pointed look but glanced back to the road we were driving on.

We arrived at Alice's house and she ran down the steps of her porch and into Jasper's awaiting arms.

"You are positively stunning." Jasper whispered into her ear. He pulled back to look at her and smiled widely. "Happy birthday!" At that moment, Mrs. Brandon walked out onto the porch. "Evening Mrs. Brandon." Jasper said kindly to Alice's mother.

"Good evening Jasper." I opened the car door and gave Alice a hug and to free the front seat. "It's good to see you too Bella dear."

"Thank you. It's always a pleasure." I responded. Mrs. Brandon was a very kind woman and always treated Alice as if she were glass. I never understood why, but I never questioned it.

"Why don't you three get on your way then, hm? Jason will be home soon, alright?" Jason was Mrs. Brandon's husband. I've yet to meet him, but by the look Alice gave, I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"Bye Mom." Alice gave her mother a kiss on the check then jumped into the car, the door held open by Jasper. "You look so beautiful Bella." Alice said as she turned in her seat to eye my dress.

"And I don't even have to tell you that you do too Alice." She grinned at me and Jasper chuckled. When Jasper first introduced us, we immediately got along and I doted on her and constantly told her how beautiful she was. Eventually she told me I told her enough to last her a lifetime, so instead I would reply as I just did. "Happy birthday." I told her and handed her two packages. "Jasper has the rest of them; he will give them to you later."

Alice tore the wrapping off both boxes and ripped the lids open. She let out a squeak and pulled out the $5,600 designer dress she has wanted but couldn't afford. In the other box were the $785 shoes to match.

"Oh Bella!" She leaned back over the seat and pulled me into a hug. "How did you know?"

"Please, like I didn't see you eyeballing that dress for weeks. And I would be a fool not to know you would adore the shoes." She gave me a huge grin and let me go.

"I'm not sure what to say. Thank you so much Bella."

"You're welcome Alice."

Jasper wanted to give her the other gifts later when they were alone. He got her some jewelry to match the dress, a diamond necklace, bracelet and earrings to match, and a purse that would go perfectly with the outfit.

I was surprised at how well he did at picking them out. He only needed me to narrow down his choices on the purses but the jewelry he picked on his own.

Thirty minutes later and we pulled up at the theater, Jasper opening both mine and Alice's door at the same time, offering us his hands. He was very much a gentleman growing up, and still is. We walked over to the window and Jasper gave the clerk our tickets. He tore off a section and gave them back, his eyes following Alice. Jasper gave him a little glare and wrapped his arm around her waist. I rolled my eyes at the tall man with blond, shaggy, curly hair that was my brother.

"Bella?" Alice pulled me out of my thoughts and I walked towards them after a deep and unnecessary breath. The door was opened by one of the employees and we walked into the extravagant lobby.

We gave the usher our tickets and he led us to our box in the front of the theater on the second story. Jasper paid a lot for these excellent tickets that usually only the celebrities get, but money meant nothing to Jasper and I. Not when we have lived as long as we have.

We took our seats, three large and comfy chairs reserved for us alone. We wouldn't be sharing the box like it normally was. Jasper sat in the middle and pulled Alice down beside him. I stayed standing, looking over the balcony. I spotted some high named people from the government, but they held no interest to me. Jasper and Alice were talking quietly behind me. I gave them their chance to talk about me and pretended I didn't notice. I moved and walked around the room where we would spend the next few hours. Bottled water, some wine, fruits, cookies, and other assortments of finger foods were placed on a table, but again, it held no interest to me. Food was something I couldn't have. Occasionally I wish I could, but I try not to let it bother me. When the whispers in our box died down, I walked back to my seat, gracefully, crossing my ankles.

Alice gave me sympathetic look and I knew Jasper gave her a short version, not half of what really happened, of why I was so antsy, but I ignored the look. The lights dimmed and the crowd throughout the 5,000 seats quieted. The music started in the orchestra and the lights came up on stage.

The first while of the show passed without incident except for when the character Eponine first made her appearance on stage as a child. I winced, Jasper patted my leg, turned his gaze to me but I ignored it. I continued watching, determined not to let this get to me. It has been over a hundred years for goodness sakes. When the older Eponine came out and the song started, that stupid song about him not loving her while she was standing right there waiting, I had to get up and pace the box.

I walked around twice before Alice cleared her throat, letting me know she didn't like my being in the way of her view of the stage. Since she didn't know why I was upset, I settled for giving her a small glare instead of shouting, which I really felt like doing, and felt my body shift to what it normally was, allowing myself to be visible to no one but Jasper, since he is what I am. As if he heard me think his name, which is possible if he was listening, he gave me a sad look and started to stand. I shook my head and continued pacing. Jasper didn't care for me to walk in front of him, blocking the sight of the stage. He wasn't too thrilled about seeing this particular show either but he wouldn't ever tell Alice no. This show didn't hold near the amount of pain to him as it did for me, but it still hurt him. I could see it in his eyes.

The first act finally ended and the lights came up. I darted out of the room and into the balcony lobby. I leaned over the rail and took deep breaths, willing myself to calm. I never realized I had pent up so much of the emotion from the time Jasper and I lived in Paris, but it was apparent that it still harbored within me.

Jasper came out of the box alone, Alice was still inside. He pulled me to him, pressing his cheek to the top of my head.

"Are you alright?" He asked, pulling back to look me in the eye.

"I'm fine." I whispered. Jasper knew better, but didn't comment. He was always so protective over me, so caring and loving. After all these years, nothing has changed that. He rolled his eyes at my obvious lie and placed his cheek against my head again. "What did you tell Alice?"

"I was hoping you didn't notice." He gave me a final squeeze and pulled back, letting his forearms rest on the rail of the balcony. I cocked my eyebrow at him and he gave a short laugh. "Okay, I knew you would, but I hoped you would at least ignore it." I tapped my foot and he smiled, his eyes on the people below us. "You would think after all these years you would have learned patience. But you haven't. You're still the same as you always were."

"So are you, always trying to change the subjects that make you nervous." He laughed again and ran a hand through his hair.

"Some things won't ever change I guess." He paused and let out a sigh. "I just told her that you remember the playwright and that you were fond of him and his family, that you remember his death and that it was still hard for you."

"That's all?" His eyes finally met mine.

"Of course Bella. You know I care for Alice, but I would never explain something like this to someone when it wasn't my story to tell. You should know that." It was me that dropped our gaze first.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be acting this way; I just never realized this still bothered me. I haven't thought about it in years, and all of a sudden, I'm flooded with the same emotions that ruined me before."

"I know." Jasper kissed my hair. "Don't fret. If you want, we can talk about it after Alice has to go home." I nodded and he took my arm, placing it through his and walked me back to the box.

"Is everything alright?" Alice asked immediately, throwing her arms around me. I laughed and pulled away.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"If I had known…" Alice searched for words but I stopped her.

"No, I'm glad you chose this. It reminded me of who I am, what I used to be and what parts of me still can be." The lights cut out before she could say anything and we sat back down in our seats.

I lied. I'm not okay, I'm not sure I will be fine and I wish she hadn't chosen this play. But I would deal. I had to. It was time for me to learn how.

The actors walked back onto the stage, opening up with the students getting ready to rebel and Marius sending Eponine with a letter for his lover Cosette. Eponine's character was secretly in love with Marius, he just didn't know it. And Eponine was practically destroying herself for him, to make him happy. Even though he loved someone else.

Finally, Eponine comes out and sings one of her solos, 'On My Own'. I was doing alright at first. I got through the beginning verse and thought I could handle it. Then it went further into the song and the lines seemed to slice through my chest. I stood so abruptly my chair fell back with a clank and I immediately shifted into my normal body again. "I can't do this right now. I'll be back." I whispered to Jasper. Turning him down when he offered to see me out. Alice was so involved with the play she didn't seem to notice my scene. I darted out the door, down the steps of the second story and back into the deserted entrance lobby.

I wandered around for several minutes, allowing myself time to calm. Once I felt I had control of myself, I walked back up the stairs and onto the second level and into the box where Jasper and Alice were.

Jasper immediately looked up as I entered. I took my seat beside him and he patted my hand gently.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

"I'm fine." I responded, he seemed to take my answer seriously after eyeing me for several minutes, then after a nod, turned his attention back to the stage. I shifted so I was visible and watched the show without another incident.

The show ended rather quickly. I had been deep in thought and didn't really pay attention to the rest of the show.

"Bella, is it alright if we get Alice something to eat before we take her home?"

"Of course." I replied easily.

We made it to the car, Jasper opening both of our doors once again, and then we were off to a fancy restaurant. When we arrived, Jasper came around to open the door and I stepped out. "Why don't I leave you two some time alone?" Quite honestly, I didn't want to feel like I was crowding them so I asked Jasper for the keys. "Just call me when you're done and I'll come back. There is a store a few blocks away that I've wanted to go to."

"Are you sure?" Alice asked me.

"Yeah. You two have fun; just let me know when you're done." They agreed and I got back in the car, driving around. There actually wasn't a store I wanted to visit, but I just wanted time alone. I drove several blocks away and once I realized, I turned around. I decided I wanted to get out of the car, so I turned the corner, parked two blocks away from the restaurant Jasper and Alice were at and got out.

I needed the fresh air to think so I walked around aimlessly. This part of town was very popular. Stores, restaurants and apartments flitted the streets on each side. I walked down the sidewalk, coming into step with the people around me. I didn't look at any of them; I just kept my eyes on my feet and walked. Once I realized I had walked over nine blocks, I crossed the street and walked back down towards the restaurant. I passed by a bar, 'Masens', that was on the corner of one of the streets. A man was standing on the sidewalk, whistling when women went by.

It made me nervous naturally, even though I really had nothing to fear. So I decided I would just try to ignore him. I continued walking and as soon as I stepped passed him, I felt a hand cup my rear.

**A/N**

**So, please please review. I love hearing from people and as a reward, for the reviews I get, I'll send you a sneak peek of the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the first, very confusing, chapter. Things will get clearer as we go along, so just hold on and try to stick with me. Thank you!**


	2. Masens

**A/N**

**So, confusion with the first chapter? Yes, understandable. I hope this chapter will be better for you since the first one was just to get the understanding of who is whom. So don't forget to review, they always get sneak peeks! There will be some French in here, it will be translated into ( ) and the phone call Bella receives will be translated at the end. Enjoy!**

"Get your hands off me!" I said as I turned around.

"Oh sugar, don't be that way." The man grasped my breasts and as I pulled my hand back, ready to punch him harder than he had ever been hit before, he was shoved against the wall, a tall figure looming over him.

"Don't you _ever_ lay your hands on a woman like that. I don't care how intoxicated you are, that is more than disrespectful. Don't even think about showing back up here, we've had enough trouble out of you." He let go of the drunk and he scampered off. I watched as the man turned to face me."I'm so sorry mam. We kicked him out for doing that to some other girl. Will you please come inside? Allow me to get you a drink or something?" The man asked me. I was speechless. He was beautiful, beyond that even. His eyes were a gorgeous silky green, his hair a soft mess of bronze, and his build tall, lean, and muscled. "Mam?" He asked again.

"Oh, uh, I'm fine." I responded lamely.

"I'm Edward by the way." Edward stuck out his hand, I placed mine in his and I gasped at the shock that ran through my arm. He seemed to feel it too since his eyes widened. He placed a soft kiss to my hand and let it go gently.

"Bella." I said softly. I was immediately entranced by him. He had me captivated.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?"

"No, it's alright. I don't drink." I told him honestly. He just didn't have to know that I don't drink anything. Or eat.

"Can I at least walk you back to your car? There is another bouncer inside, he can take care of things for a few minutes."

"I don't want you to have to do that."

"You just got groped by a drunken man, and you aren't the least bit rattled?" Edward asked me, one of his eyebrows rose.

"Not really."

"How intriguing. Most women would be in hysterics and crying by now." He told me.

"I'm not most women." That was more than honest.

"I can see that, very clearly." He smiled at me, a smile that made my body feel like everything shut down for a moment. It was a half smile, it was sideways. "Could you at least come inside a few minutes? I would feel better if you were here, rather than on the street, if you had a breakdown. Just in case?" He didn't seem to realize he was giving me a slight pout. I heard myself say yes, but I didn't think I could actually have said no. He gave me that smile again and placed his hand on the middle of my back. "You don't have to drink anything. Just sit here for a moment. It will make me feel better." He looked down at me and added, "We had to call an ambulance for the other girl earlier tonight. She hyperventilated and couldn't breathe correctly. Of course he got a bit further with her." His jaw clenched tightly as his eyes narrowed. "I just want to make sure that doesn't happen with you too." He led me to a booth close to the bar where a pretty blond was serving shots. "He's really the only man we've ever had trouble with, apart from people that aren't from around here." Edward told me as he sat across from me.

"So you are a bouncer here?" I asked him.

"And part owner. My brother opened it up last year and I provided the funds he needed." He told me, not sounding bitter like I would have expected.

"It's classier than most bars." I noted. Most bars were filthy and filled with smoke, but this one wasn't bad. No smoking was allowed and people were limited with their drinks too. I saw the sign over the blonds head when I glanced back at her.

"I had a list of requirements for Emmett when I gave him the money. One was that smoking should be outside the bar. The other is that the bartender is allowed to stop serving you alcohol if they think you can't handle more. I didn't want people leaving this place only to die because they had one too many."

"I'm sure a lot of people weren't happy with that."

"No. But it doesn't matter, they don't have to come if they don't like the way we run things. And there are always two bouncers on shift at all times. Emmett and I work the weekend late shift since that is when we are busiest. That will be when the most trouble is and if we are going to have trouble, we want to be the ones to handle it."

"So I'm guessing that is Emmett?" I asked, pointing to the tall and extremely bulky man at the entrance.

"That's him." Edward said with a laugh. Emmett looked to be about as tall as Edward, maybe even a little less, but he had larger muscles than Edward, definitely intimidating.

Emmett seemed to have sensed us talking about us and looked over his shoulder. He caught me gazing at him and winked at me. I let out a laugh and Edward shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if we really are brothers. We can be so unlike each other that we could be from completely different worlds. But then there are times like that…" He said, pointing back to Emmett. "And I know that we are related without a doubt." I looked back to the door but Emmett wasn't there, he was at the bar with the blond. He was holding her dancing with her to their own music, whispering in her ear. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were closed. He pressed his lips to her forehead and stepped back, walking back to the door. "When I see the way he is with her, it reminds me so much of how my mother and father were that, I couldn't doubt us being related even if I wanted to."

"How your mother and father were? Are they divorced?" I asked curiously. A shadow crossed Edward's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's alright, it's just…they died. A few weeks ago." The heart in my chest that would never pound again, just felt like it dropped into my stomach.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean… I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry." I rambled. Edward gave me a small smile and shook his head.

"You didn't know. It's okay, really."

"Both of my parents died too." I stated, hoping to make him feel a little better.

"Really? When was that?" He paused and added, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind. It's been so long that I don't even remember when. I don't really know who they were, I was a child when they died." No need to tell him that it had been before he was even born that they died, before his parents were born even.

Edward placed his hand over mine. His eyes trained on mine but I couldn't meet them. "I can't even begin to pretend I know how that would feel, missing someone who would have meant so much to you later in life."

"Well you can't really miss someone you never knew, right?" I asked with a small laugh. It was time for a subject change, Edward seemed to agree.

"So where are you from?"

"Would you like to know my birth place, where I grew up as a child, where I ran off to to get away from my childhood, the places in between, or where I just recently came from?" Honesty was supposed to be the best policy, let's find out if it really is.

"Wow. Uh, all of them?" He asked, giving me a chance to back out if I needed it.

"Well, I was born in France. In a little town not too far from Paris. Then, when my parents died, my brother took me to the city so he could get a job of some sort and try to raise me himself. We lived in Paris for a few years, we went off to Brussels when money became more scarce. That's what we did when we ran low on money, we moved." Although I was telling Edward the truth, I just wasn't telling him that this was all before the Revolution in France. "Eventually we went to Naples and later back to France. Then to Spain and now here. My brother and I lived in Texas for a year, moved to another state or two, then we moved here to New York a few months ago."

Edward was staring at me, his eyes glued onto me. Fascination was clearly written on his face.

"That is so amazing. Going to all these places and experiencing things people might never have." His brows furrowed a moment, then he said, "But you don't have an accent."

"La plupart du temps, non. My anglais est très bon. Mais mon accent est épaisse quand je parle français." I added, "Ou si je n'ai aucune émotion." As a last thought.

"Huh?" I let out a laugh at Edward's expression.

"I said, most of the time, no. My English is very good. But my accent is thick when I speak French. Or if I have any heightened emotion."

"Oh." Edward said shyly and dropped his gaze to the table. "Can you tell me how to say, Emmett is an ass?" I laughed again at his question. I believe this is the most I've smiled or laughed in a very long time.

"Emmett est un âne."

"Thanks. I'll be sure to remember that." Before I could say more, the small phone in my pocket began to vibrate.

"Hello?" I said into the speaker. Jasper's voice rang through the earpiece, his own thick French accent agitated. He only speaks French when he is annoyed or upset about something. "Je suis désolé, oui je vais bien." I replied back to his question. He asked me the same question again and instead of telling him where I was I just said, "Je serai juste là, Je suis à Masens." I let out a snort at his expression and rolled my eyes. "J'ai dit que je suis désolé de Jasper." He told me he was on his way and I hung up the phone before he could say anymore. I looked at Edward and he had a puzzled expression but with a smile. "What?" I asked, slightly self-conscious.

"That's amazing. I've always wanted to learn French but they only offered Spanish in high school."

"I could teach it to you if you would like." I said before I could stop myself. Something inside me wanted desperately to see him again, even though I really shouldn't.

"Really?" Edward asked excitedly.

"Sure. It might take a little while to learn though."

"I don't mind." He said quickly, he dropped his gaze to the table again. He suddenly seemed so much more different than the bouncer I saw outside the door. This was a shy man by nature it seemed, but his job required him not to be, so he wasn't. I imagined if he was alone, he would be more reserved.

"If you wanted, I could come by here and teach you. Maybe before you come into work or during a break or something?"

"Either, both, uh, it doesn't matter." He stuttered. I smiled reassuringly at him and he gave me a small grin. "I'm working again tomorrow night." He stated. I was about to respond when Jasper's voice penetrated the air.

"Vous y êtes! J'étais tellement inquiète." (There you are! I was so worried.)He was still upset apparently. Jasper's hands wrapped around my upper arms, his eyes roaming over me to make sure I wasn't hurt. It was ridiculous, and he knew it, but he still checked none the less. Old habits really did seem to die hard.

"Jasper, je vous ai dit que j'étais bien." I looked behind him but didn't see a petite black headed girl there. "Où est Alice?" (Jasper, I told you I was fine. Where is Alice?)

"Elle est dans la voiture, j'ai eu mon trousseau de clés supplémentaire dans mon portefeuille." (She is in the car, I had my extra set of keys in my wallet.) Jasper looked at Edward and back to me. "Qui est ce?" (Who is this?)

"Son nom est Edward, il m'a aidé avec quelque chose ce soir que je vais expliquer une fois que nous sommes hors de la barre." (His name is Edward, he helped me with something tonight that I'll explain once we are out of the bar.)

I noticed Edward's head turning and looking at the person who was talking each time. His ears perked up when he heard his name, French or not, he would know we were talking about him.

Jasper eyed Edward for a moment, and I could have sworn I saw Edward's smile falter for a moment as he looked between Jasper and I speculatively. "Eh bien nous allons sortir d'ici. Alice est en attente sur nous." (Well let's get out of here. Alice is waiting on us.)

"I can't thank you enough for your help Edward." I said softly as I turned back to look at him instead of Jasper.

"I was just doing my job." He said with a sad smile. I couldn't understand exactly why his mood had dampened, but I didn't have time to ask why.

"It was nice meeting you." I told him and flashed a wide smile. He let out a small laugh and nodded.

"The pleasure was all mine." He took my hand in his, kissed it once more and let it fall again to my side. "Au revoir." Edward looked at Jasper and back to me. "That's about all the French I know." I let out a small laugh and smiled.

"Bien, au revoir, Edward." (Well, goodbye, Edward)I told him hesitantly. I didn't want to say goodbye, not in the least. Jasper placed his hand on the middle of my back and led me out of the bar, immediately jumping into conversation.

**Bella's phone conversation with Jasper translated:**

Jasper: Bella, où diable êtes-vous? Sont tu alright?/ Bella, where the hell are you? Are you alright?

Bella: Je suis désolé, oui je vais bien./ I'm sorry, yes I'm fine.

Jasper: Où êtes-vous?/ Where are you?

Bella: Je serai juste là, Je suis à Masens / I'll be right over there, I'm at Masens.

Jasper: Alice et moi avons tous deux essayé de vous appeler, vous m'aviez inquiet de la mort./ Alice and I both tried calling you, you had me worried to death.

Bella: J'ai dit que je suis désolé de Jasper.

/ I said I'm sorry Jasper.

Jasper: Restez où vous êtes. Je viendrai te chercher./Just stay where you are. I'll come get you.

**A/N**

**So there you have it, Edward and Bella's big meet. Don't forget to review! I appreciate them dearly and they help me update sooner!**


	3. Memory Lane

**A/N**

**Here is another chapter, I hope it is better than the last. This one goes into a bit more detail, not much, about headquarters and gives you another glimpse at Bella and Jasper's oddness. **

"Qu'est-il arrivé?" (What happened?) Jasper asked immediately when I turned away from Edward.

"Je vais vous dire quand nous sommes dans la voiture." (I'll tell you when we are in the car.)

Jasper let out a sigh but didn't say more, until the exact moment when I shut the door of the car once I was inside.

"Now tell me. Alice called you at least three times and I called you more. I didn't know what to think." Jasper and I weren't sure if people like us could die so it was something that always worried both of us.

"I drove passed the store, it was closed." I lied. "I drove off several blocks and turned around. I wanted to walk so I parked the car and got out. When I passed by Masens, this man decided to fill me up. Before I could even do anything Edward had him against the wall. Told him he wasn't welcome to come back and asked me to come inside so he could make sure I would be alright. We started talking and I lost track of time. That's all."

"What man touched you?" Jasper's eyes glinted dangerously. This subject was a sore spot for us.

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter, it was taken care of." Jasper took a moment to calm himself, then started the car and drove off towards Alice's house.

Once we arrived, Jasper walked around, opened Alice's door and helped her out of the vehicle. He walked her to the door with his arm around her waist. I watched them intently. Watching the way they moved together, if one took a step, the other mirrored it perfectly and without hesitation. I don't even think they noticed. I could see the way Jasper's eyes zoomed in on Alice's lips when she traced her tongue across her bottom lip and pulled it into her mouth, biting on it.

Mrs. Brandon opened the door with wide eyes. "Did you have a good time?" She asked, peeking over her shoulder back into the house.

"It was perfect." Alice said softly. She hadn't taken her eyes off Jasper.

"Why don't you come on in, alright?" Her mother asked, her voice shaky. "Thank you for bringing her back Jasper."

"It was no trouble at all mam." He gave a small nod to Mrs. Brandon and grabbed Alice's hand, giving it a squeeze before turning on his heel and walking back towards the car.

I got out and opened the passenger side door. I slid in and looked up to see Mrs. Brandon wave at me with a smile.

"Have a good night." I told her, then shut the door.

Jasper got in and looked at me. There was an odd expression on his face. Confusion, pain, fear. He was struggling with something, that much was easy to tell.

"I want to tell you so badly." He whispered. He turned his gaze to the steering wheel in front of him.

"So tell me." He let out a dark laugh but didn't say anymore. He cranked the car and sped off towards headquarters. "You love her." It wasn't a question. His eyes flicked to mine then back to the road. "I can see it. Everything you do is for her. I would say you live and breath for her, but technically you don't live, and you don't breath, but you get my point."

"Do you have to remind me that I'm not alive? That I'm not enough for her and never could be? Of course I'm in love with her, everything that is her. How could I not be?"

"Is this what you wanted to tell me?" He let out a sigh.

"No. It has to do with her, but this isn't that."

"Jasper, you've never told me anything about her, but I'm not stupid. I figure things out on my own. Like her mother, she is perfectly happy when her father isn't there, but when he shows up, she is edgy and frantic. She freaks out if we are there when her father is due home. Alice never wants to go home and when we pick her up, she darts out the door and leaps into your arms. He beats her. Alice's father beats her doesn't he?"

Jasper gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles going white. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me? You know you can trust me and yet you _still_ refuse to. After all these years I've proven myself to you time and again, and you just won't. Your lack of trust is what made us what we are you know. You would think you would have learned to trust me by now but you _still won't_."

Jasper slammed the car into park, we just arrived at headquarters. "Damn it Bella! Don't you think I know that? Of course I do! Hell, you haven't let me forget since the day this happened to us! All you do is tell me how it is my fault that we're this way. Everyday since we woke up, you smear in my face that I did this. I know that!" He grasped my shoulders and shook me. I immediately locked down inside, immediately tried to pull away, but his grasp tightened. "God of course I know I did this to me, to _you_. I've gutted myself everyday Bella. Everyday in our shit-hole life I've beat myself for this. If _you_ had have just listened to _me_ this wouldn't have happened!" At those words, at those God awful, dreadful words, I felt the white, milky tears start to fall down my cheeks. My knees buckled but Jasper pulled me up and into his arms, clinging to me. "Oh God. I'm so sorry Bella. I didn't mean it, I swear. Please forgive me." Jasper's voice shook as he held me to him. "I swore to myself I wouldn't treat you this way like I did to mom, but I'm doing it. I've always done it and you've never mentioned it. All you've done is love me, try to help me. And I've pushed you away. Like I have with everyone else in my life." Jasper, with me still attached to him, slid down the car and onto the cool ground. "Bella, I've been so afraid. I knew it was my fault that we ended up this way…"

"No, it isn't. It really is my fault." I looked up to see the same milky tears running down Jasper's face.

"You listen to me, it is _not_ your fault. The only reason I said that was to try and take some of the load off myself. I was being pathetic and I didn't want to admit that I'm the reason you were hurt in the first place. All I've wanted to do is be the brother you've needed, to love you the way you wanted, but all I've _done_ is hurt you and tear you apart."

"That isn't true." He cut me off.

"Yes, it is. I've been terrified since we died that I would lose you. You are all I have left and the only one who still cares about me and I would be shattered if I ever lost you. I've been so afraid to admit it to myself and all that ended up with me doing is pushing you away when you only tried to help me." He dropped his gaze to the ground, his tears drying up and disappearing in mid-air. "I always do that. You try to help, and I push you away. You try to be there, I run. You try to love me, and I hate. What kind of brother am I?"

I snuggled closer into his chest, his arms automatically tightened around me. "The normal kind. Do you think that other brothers and sisters don't have fights like these? That other brothers and sisters don't push each other away or say the cruelest things they can think of?" I tilted my head so I could look at his face. "Of course they do! I'm just lucky that my brother is so close to me, that he would give up his own life to protect me. You already have." He smiled and let out a snort.

"And see where that got us?" I smiled with him. "I love you Bells." He kissed the top of my forehead. "I know I don't show you the way I should, but I do. And I even loved you more than Jennet." It was my turn to let out a snort. Jennet was one of Jasper's long ago ex's. He was seven when he told us he was going to marry her, then a week later they broke up, and the next week they were together again. I was jealous of her being so close to Jasper.

"You remember that time she pushed me into the two foot tall antbed when you guys broke up? She knew I was the one that talked you into breaking up with her."

"And mom had to grab you and throw you into the bathtub and spray you as fast as she could because you were getting bitten so many times." Jasper burst into a fit of laughter and I couldn't help but join in.

"And you stayed beside the bathtub, holding my hand and cried until I stopped crying."

"Then I went outside, grabbed two handfuls of the same antbed and threw it into Jennet's hair." I let out a very unladylike snort.

"I didn't know you did that."

"Yeah, that's why I got my butt torn up with a hickory stick by gramms." I let out another unladylike snort. "You didn't know that?"

"No! I was still inside getting changed into new clothes when you came in crying again." Jasper chuckled.

"Gramms saw me do it. She didn't stop me, said the girl deserved it, but she had to get on to me for not being a gentleman." I giggled.

"That sounds exactly like her. You know, I never got a spanking from her?"

"Liar!"

"No really, I didn't. It was always mom and dad."

Before we could say more, our leader from headquarters was standing beside us, looking down at us with amusement written on his face.

"I saw you pull up, when you didn't come inside I was worried something had happened somehow and came to check on you, but now I see I'm just interrupting family bonding time." Marcus was grinning. He offered a hand to Jasper, he accepted, and Marcus pulled us both up. "I'll leave you two to it then." Marcus turned and walked away, going back inside headquarters.

"I want to help you with Alice." Jasper eyed me. After a long minute, he let out a sigh.

"I don't know Bella, you haven't had to help anyone before. You wouldn't know what to do."

"Hell you don't know what to do." I said with a laugh. Jasper smirked and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.

"Are you sure?"

"Jasper, Alice means a lot to me too. I don't want to see her hurt anymore than you do. Just let me help you. You don't have to do this on your own." Jasper sighed again.

"Alright."

"Really?" I asked, excitement flowing through my voice.

"Really." I let out a squeal and jumped up to lace my arms around Jasper's neck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Let's go inside. I'll tell you more about her situation after I talk to Marcus." Jasper squatted in front of me and looked at me from over his shoulder. "Hop on."

I gave him a huge smile and leapt onto his back. As children, before our mother and father passed away, he used to carry me everywhere on his back. Mom always complained that it took me too long to learn how to walk because Jasper always carried me on his back.

Jasper opened the door to the lobby and let me fall to my feet. "I'll wait in my room." I told him.

"It won't take long. I just need to ask Marcus a few things and then I'll see you in there." Jasper told me while walking to the elevator. I nodded and headed up one side of the grand staircase and towards my room on the second floor.

"Just getting in?" I turned to see Rosalie, one of the humans we took care of, walking out of the room four doors down from mine.

"Yeah. You?"

"No, I was going to head down to the cafeteria, want to come?" Rosalie knew I didn't eat, but she always asked.

Rosalie and I had a rough start; she was a fireball and didn't have many friends here so she was always lonely, though she would never admit it. Final, I figured out a few things about her, we found some things in common and we became friends.

"Sure, just let me put my bag in my room." I tossed my bag to the bed and walked back out to meet her.

"Where is Jasper?" She asked as soon as I closed my door.

"He's upstairs talking to Marcus." Marcus's room was on the fifth floor.

We walked in silence down to the kitchen where a few of the other humans were currently eating.

"Hey Bella." Jacob, a kind boy who lost his mother, called to me. I waved at him and walked in line with Rosalie as she filled her tray with food.

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be eating?" I asked Rosalie as she took a bite from her bread on the way to a table.

"Probably, but I was hoping you would get home sooner so I had been waiting on you so we could eat together, I gave up on waiting as soon as you walked in."

"Sorry, Jasper and his friend wanted to eat after the show."

"How was it? The show."

"Depressing beyond belief." Rosalie laughed and I couldn't help but join her. She was a beautiful girl with long blond hair and a tall lean figure. She had a laugh that forced anyone around her to join in, and it wasn't because it was cute. It was a hideous laugh, loud and obnoxious with a few snorts once in a while.

"It was based on your life wasn't it?" I had told Rosalie a few things from my past, including the fact that I knew the composer of the show "Les Miserables". But I didn't tell her the full story.

"Not really. Just a few similarities here and there."

"Hey Bella, Paul doesn't believe that you can't eat or drink anything. He wants you to show him." Jacob said, running up to our table with Paul trailing behind.

"No thanks." I replied immediately. I hated the others being able to see just how different I was.

"Come on, just this once?" Jacob asked, holding out a bottle of water.

"Fine. But this is it." In all actuality, it was quite fun trying to eat and drink things because it somewhat tickled.

I took the bottle from Jacob and twisted the cap. I put the bottle to my lips and tipped my head back, allowing the liquid to fall into my mouth. The moment it hit my tongue, it seeped through my skin, dripping out from the bottom of my closed mouth and evaporating in thin air before it could hit my clothes.

Paul stood there, staring at me, Rosalie was wearing a smirk and Jacob was smiling widely.

"See! Isn't it so cool!" Jacob punched Paul in the arm, who was still staring. I never understood why boys hit each other, but I never asked. I didn't really want to know. I figure it is some sort of male dominance thing and I really don't care for it. "Dude stop staring. Come on." Jacob grabbed Paul's arm and started pulling him back to their table. "Thanks Bella." I just smiled and shook my head.

"So, I've been wondering, how far apart are you and Jasper?" Rosalie asked once the cafeteria quieted.

"Three years."

"My brother and I were three years apart too." Rosalie's entire family had abandoned her, they up and moved one day while she was out of the house and never told her. We took her in a week later when Marcus found her.

"Were you close to him?"

"Not like you and Jasper. Mom and dad loved him, but not me. He would occasionally take up for me, but that didn't happen often."

I wasn't sure what to say to her, so when she resumed eating I relaxed. Jasper walked into the cafeteria, his eyes landing right on mine.

"Hey, you ready?" He asked as he walked over to us.

"You guys going somewhere?" Rosalie tossed her tray and returned.

"No, we were just going to talk about his case for a while." I stood beside Rosalie.

"Well I'm off to bed. Goodnight." She kissed Jasper and I on the cheek. "See you tomorrow." She walked out of the cafeteria.

Jasper opened the door on the opposite side of the room for me. We walked out to the gardens.

"I talked to Alice, she is okay with you knowing. So tomorrow, we are going over to her house for a while, let you observe things for a while."

"Sounds good." I replied as we walked over the bridge overlooking the small stream. We sat down and leaned our backs against the rails.

"Alice has had a really rough time with her dad. Mrs. Brandon tried to leave Jason many times, but each time she tries he threatens her with Alice, saying he will beat her or whatever else pops into his mind. Needless to say, her mom stays to try and protect her. She never leaves Alice alone with Jason, but sometimes she can't help it." Jasper took a deep breath and looked away from me. "I think…Bella I think he…molested her. Alice never said it, but when I'm there, if Jason sees me around, he always touches Alice. He lets his fingers brush across her for too long, places his hand too low on her back or too high up on her leg. Like I said, she never mentioned it, but I think she is ashamed to admit to that." Jasper let his head fall back against the post with a 'thump'. "I hate leaving her. I hate _myself_ for allowing her to stay there. I should take her, run away with her and protect her."

"That may not be the best choice though. You can't always protect her Jasper. Sometimes, things just happen." I looked at him and saw the milky tears as he gazed intently into my eyes. "And, if he did touch her like that, then I may be able to help her more than you can. I can relate better because I've been in a similar situation. Maybe she needs me too." Jasper just sighed loudly.

"I just don't want to have to involve you. It doesn't seem fair to you."

"Jasper, that's stupid. It's not like I have a case and if I'm not with you, I'm not doing anything except sitting in my room. I like having a reason to get out. And I want to be there for Alice. I kind of like her." I grinned at Jasper and he smiled back.

"Thank you Bella."

"You're welcome." He leaned over and kissed my hair, standing up and holding his hand out. He pulled me to my feet and we continued to walk around the gardens. We talked more about Alice, and we decided that from now on, I would go with Jasper twice a week to stay with her. Just to start out. After that, if we both thought I could handle it, I would go with Jasper every time he went to Alice's.

I was more than thrilled to get to spend more time with Alice than once every other week or even less sometimes. And I was beyond thrilled that Jasper and I would work together as a team, for the first time in quite a while.

**A/N**

**So, there is that…What do you think? Better? We will get to Bella's past soon and she will detail us on Jasper's as well. There will be drama to come at sweet little Alice's house and there may just be some ass whipping. : ) Don't forget, leave a review and I'll send you a sneak peek! Thank you so much!**


	4. Past Life

**A/N**

**So I don't have much to say really, just that I want to thank you guys who have reviewed! You are awesome! And you will get a huge insight into Alice's life and some details on Bella and Jaspers as well. Enjoy and don't forget to review please!**

Jasper and I left headquarters early the next morning. Alice's mother and father would be gone for a few hours, so she invited us up.

Jasper was still nervous about me helping with Alice, but I knew he would need me, especially if her father really had touched her. I felt the familiar flames of anger start to burn through my veins. No one deserved that. I didn't care who it was. Jasper must have noticed the tension in my body; he patted my leg, trying to calm me. He smiled at me when I met his gaze but didn't say a word.

The drive was quick, Jasper drives like a maniac. The moment we pulled up, before he could even put the car in park, Alice was out of the door and running down the pathway. Jasper turned off the car and when his door opened and he stood, Alice was in his arms.

I turned my head away. The moment seemed to be so innocently intimate and I wanted them to have that.

"Hi Bella!" Alice bounced over to me and threw her arms around my neck.

"Good morning to you too." I said with a laugh. Alice just grinned.

"Come inside." She said, taking Jasper's hand and leading the way. She opened the door for us and allowed us in. She took us upstairs and into her room. She bent her legs and sat on the floor Indian style, Jasper behind her on the chair by her desk. I sat in front of her, watching the pair. They seemed to study each other for a moment during the silence that filled the room once we entered. Alice took a deep breath and looked at me, I gave her a reassuring smile. She let her breath and spoke, "Jasper said you found out some…things." She started with a grimace.

"Jasper never told me anything. Not once did he give me any sort of information, no matter how much I badgered him for it. But, I had a pretty good idea of why you needed him the moment I met you." Alice nodded sadly, her short, spiky black her bobbing around her face. "Did he ever tell you what happened to me?"

"No. He mentioned a few small details but not how either one of you died." She replied. Jasper placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently.

"He died trying to save me." I whispered. I wouldn't look at Jasper, even though I felt his eyes on me. "He and I had gotten into a fight. Our parents died and we didn't have any other family. We were poor, alone, and I was constantly bitter." I rubbed my face and let out a sigh. "It's a long story, but to simplify it, I was in love with someone who was in love with someone else. I got depressed and miserable and Jasper pointed it out, he told me how ridiculous I was being. I got angry and ran out after saying…some awful things." I whispered the last few words. I decided to chance a glance at Jasper and looked up to see him eyeing me. My guilt, I was sure, was clearly written across my face. "He let me run. He didn't try to stop me. It was dark and freezing out and I was in a dirty, thin dress that the poorer girls wore that wasn't fit to be a rag. It didn't keep out the cold so, naturally, my body started to numb and stiffen. I walked passed an alley; a man grabbed me, pulled me out from under the street lights." I stopped when I saw Jasper's hands ball into fists. I pretended to find a particular piece of the carpet fascinating and continued. "I won't go into the details, they were gruesome. Not something you would want to hear. But, while he was hitting me and taking advantage of me, another man saw and decided to join in. I was taken advantage of and beaten by him as well. I didn't realize that Jasper had followed me shortly after I left. I heard his footsteps, I knew it was him, it just had to be." I wanted to see Jasper's reaction, but I couldn't look in his eyes, so I continued staring at the carpet. "He came in the alley. I didn't even have to look at him to know there was rage boiling off of him so heavily I thought I could drown in it, I could feel it. It surrounded me and it was almost comforting." I stopped, allowing myself to think back to the night I died. To the night my life was stolen from me along with my innocence. I could clearly remember the relief and instant fear of seeing Jasper. The relief that he was there and might be able to protect me, the fear that he was seeing what happened and that he might get hurt. When I felt I myself shaking, I pulled myself out of the morbid memory and focused on the not so horrific details I was giving Alice. "Jasper didn't pause; he ran straight to the man that was above me and punched him. He got in a few good hits and got him away from me, the one that was holding me saw that. The man must have known the way through Jasper, was through me. Any stranger could have seen that, and this man did. He pulled out a gun and shot me. He aimed for my heart, but he missed by inches. The gun had more of a kick than he thought. Jasper came after him and knocked the gun away when he was about to fire again, but not before he got shot himself. He didn't stop though. He used the pain to help him fight." I heard Jasper breathing heavily and looked at him, he was clutching the arms of the chair, one single drop of the milky substance slid down his cheek. This was effecting him as much, if not more, than it was me. "After the guy fell unconscious, Jasper crawled to me and held me as we both bled to death." Inside, I gave a small, dark laugh at how short and simple I made our deaths seem. There was far more detail than that, far worse than what I told Alice, but she didn't have to know that. I just needed to get the story over with so Jasper and I could calm.

The three of us sat there, waiting for the other to speak. Jasper stood and walked to me, his arms wound around me and held me to him. The embrace only lasted a moment, but it seemed so dire, so urgent. He pulled away and sat between Alice and me on the floor.

Again, we were silent, still waiting on the other to speak. Finally Alice looked at Jasper, gave him a small smile and said," Jasper, would you mind if I talked to Bella for a minute?" He nodded, bent to kiss her on the cheek and walked out of the door. I watched Alice, trying to read the emotions flickering on her face. "Bella, I'm so scared." She whimpered. I could see the tears starting to form in her eyes.

I immediately grabbed her and pulled her to me. She curled up and wrapped her arms around my waist, allowing the tears to fall. Anything that I had said about my past didn't seem relevant. What mattered was that Alice was hurting and terrified when she should never have to be. I felt the anger start to bubble in the pit of my stomach but I pushed it down. I needed to focus on Alice.

"Don't be afraid. We can figure something out; we will get you out of here. I promise." Alice pulled back from me and shook her head.

"No. That isn't what I'm scared of. It's Jasper." I sucked in my breath and stared at her, waiting for an explanation. "Bella, I am so in love with him it hurts. No matter what I say or do, he never opens up to me. He never tells me how he feels or anything about his past. He won't let me be with him. And I'm terrified. I would rather live with my father for years and let him beat me until I couldn't move than to live a few days without being with Jasper. I can't live without him Bella. He is the only reason I wake up every morning."

I let Alice's words settle. I knew what it felt like, to want to be with someone so badly you would be willing to give up your entire life, anything and everything you lived for, just to be with him.

I couldn't sit here and let her think that her feelings went unrequited. If there was anything I was sure of, it was Jasper's love for this girl in front of me. "Alice, I've never seen him care for someone the way he does with you. After we ended up this way, he never smiled. He was never happy and for the longest time, I had forgotten what his laugh sounded like. The only reason he doesn't tell you how much he cares or anything about him is so he won't hurt you. Jasper runs when he gets scared, and he is petrified right now. But he won't leave because of you." I gently traced the tears down Alice's cheeks, wiping them away softly. "Don't give up on him Alice. Please. He needs you so much more than you realize, so much more than _he_ realizes. It has been years since I've seen my brother look like he once did. And the only reason Jasper is becoming this way, is because of you. No matter what I would have said or done to him, nothing I did could have made him become himself again like being with you has. He is _finally_ alive, much more so than he was ever before. I finally have my brother back, after all these years of waiting, and it's because of you." I whispered. "I could never tell you how it has been, living with him, knowing how unhappy he was, knowing it was my fault, and yet, knowing that there was _nothing_ I could do. You saved him."

Alice grabbed me into a hug and held me to her, both of us crying as if we just watched the saddest love story on film.

There was a knock on the door and Alice and I pulled away from each other.

"Everything alright?" Jasper asked. He looked at me, his eyes full with feelings he probably would never share with me. It has never been for me. Ever.

Alice and I both nodded, I stood, straightening my clothes. "I'm going back down to Masens. I told someone I would come by tonight." I didn't realize how long Alice and I had been talking until I looked out the window and saw the sun setting quickly.

"Would you like me to drive you?" Jasper offered. He could sense the emotions flowing from me.

"No. I'll walk." Jasper gave me a sad look but I ignored it. I always knew that Alice is the one that made him feel again, but I always hoped that I, his little sister, would be the one to at least help him. I guess I was jealous of Alice. But that doesn't mean I dislike her in any way. If anything, I adore her all the more for saving Jasper. I just wish I could have done more. That was all. I felt like a failure of a sister to have watched him suffer all the years he has, and to have done nothing for him. Nothing, even through all the times he's helped me, I've done nothing.

"Are you sure?" Alice asked. She stood beside Jasper.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll see you later this week." I pulled her into a hug and whispered, "Don't be afraid." She pulled back and smiled at me. "See you when I get back to headquarters." I told Jasper and turned for the door of Alice's room.

"Will you at least call and let me pick you up?" He asked once I was out of the bedroom.

I paused on the stair case. I thought about accepting his offer, but I knew I would need the time to think. "It's alright. I won't be too late." Before I could change my mind and feel guilty over my decision, I walked out the front door. When I stepped foot on the pathway, I let my body change, turning me into my normal self.

I was going to think about what had just happened, but the moment I thought of seeing Edward, any of the hurt I felt disappeared. I walked quickly to Masens, arriving fifteen minutes later.

The bar seemed pretty busy, but everyone was either dancing or sitting in the booths eating. A bouncer I didn't know was by the door. I walked into the alley behind the bar, allowing myself to be seen, it tends to freak people out when you pop up out of no where.

I walked to the door where the man stood. He asked for my I.D. and I showed him my purchased piece of plastic. He allowed me through and I scanned over the area. I didn't see Edward or Emmett, but the blond that was with Emmett was behind the bar again.

As if she felt me thinking about her, she looked up and motioned for me to sit at the bar. I walked over, a smile on my face.

"You were here last night?" The blond asked. I nodded. "I'm Tanya, Emmett's girlfriend." She extended her hand to me. I shook it and she pulled back, fixing a drink that a man shouted at her. She rolled her eyes and slid the glass down the bar counter to the man's awaiting hand.

"Is Edward here?" I asked, raising my voice so she could hear me over a few loud drunken people.

"Actually he isn't going to be here for a while. Would you like a drink?" She had a sort of glint in her eyes, but I ignored it.

"No thanks."

"You could always leave. Come back later." Tanya said, dismissing me. She immediately turned over her shoulder and walked over to where some people were shouting drink orders, she didn't seem to falter in the least, she was handing them their drinks about as fast as they ordered.

I decided I would just wait. I didn't want to go home right now and have to deal with the mess I had made by my overly sensitive emotions. I stood and made my way to the booth Edward and I had occupied last night. Before I could even sit I heard my name. I looked behind me and saw Edward walking towards me.

Instantly my body started to rush with an electrical pulse. I wasn't sure what it meant, but the tingling feeling all over my body was quite pleasant.

"Hello Bella." He stood there, smiling at me. I dropped my gaze to the floor and bit my lip.

"Bonjour Edward." Edward grinned when I met his gaze.

"I didn't expect you to come back." He gestured for me to sit.

"I told you I would. You got back quickly. Tanya said that you weren't going to be here for a while." Edward looked over his shoulder to Tanya; she gave him a wide smile. He shook his head and sighed.

"Just try to ignore her. She can be a bit…moody."

"Do you not like her?" I was under the impression last night that he did.

"She's alright to me; I'm just not fond of the way she is towards my brother. He treats her so well, no matter what she does; he is so loving and kind. But she takes that for granted. A lot." It was hard to see what Edward was telling me. Last night, they seemed so in love with each other, though, love isn't something I'm too familiar with, on the receiving end anyway. "I'm sorry. You probably don't care to hear about it." He said with a laugh.

"I don't mind. Not at all." I gave him a reassuring smile. I could tell that he wanted to change the subject, so I decided to bring up the reason why I was here. "Quand souhaitez-vous que je commencer à enseigner vous?" I let my words sink in a moment, giving him a chance to try and guess. "When would you like me to start teaching you?" Edward grinned, happy with the change.

"Now is fine, I don't have to work for a while, I came in early."

"Alright." I thought for a moment about what I could teach him. It needed to be one word at a time and small phrases. I looked around and something hit me. "Boire." I said, nodding to the bar. "It means drink."

"Boire." Edward repeated. I smiled and nodded.

"Tasse is cup." Again Edward repeated the word. Before I could think of another word, Tanya snapped something off to Emmett and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Blonde chienne." I said as I narrowed my eyes at Tanya.

"What does that mean?"

"Blond bitch." Edward let out a loud laugh, I couldn't help but join him. Tanya glanced over at us and rolled her eyes.

"Blonde chienne." Edward repeated and laughed harder. He seemed almost childlike, sitting in front of me and laughing the way he was. I felt as if I had known Edward for years instead of the day I've really known him. I could feel the steady pulse betweens us that had me leaning closer over the table towards him. It seemed so natural.

Edward stiffened and sat up straight, his expression becoming serious. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jasper walking in.

I let out a loud sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. Jasper spotted me and came to stand by the booth.

"I'm sorry, I won't take up too much time." He said to Edward. "Bella, can I please just talk to you a minute?"

"I can talk to you when I get home." I replied.

"Bella, s'il vous plaît. Je suis vraiment désolée pour tout ce dit Alice. Il suffit de venir chez eux." (Bella, please. I'm really sorry for whatever Alice said. Just come home.)

"Alice didn't upset me. I'm not coming home right now, I'll be there later." I paused and threw in, "And it's really rude to speak French in front of someone you know can't understand you." I almost felt bad for my being harsh. Really, I shouldn't be mad at Jasper. And honestly, I wasn't. I was just hurt.

"It's alright Bella. If you need to go home with him you can. I should probably get to work anyway." Edward said, his eyes not leaving mine.

I glared at Jasper for a moment and nodded. "I'll be waiting in the car." He turned and walked out of the bar.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into him." Edward shook his head and stood, reaching his hand out for mine.

"Don't worry about it." I took his hand and he helped me out of the seat. "Thank you for coming in today. I really didn't expect you to come back."

"I wanted to come back." Edward gave me a crooked smile, his eyes sparkling with some emotion that I couldn't exactly pinpoint. He was about to open the door to walk me out to the car but I stopped him. "Can I come back tomorrow?" I hoped the desperation in my voice didn't show, but I hated the idea of leaving and not seeing him again. It was painful.

"I actually don't have to work tomorrow." I'm pretty sure my face dropped.

"Oh." Was my brilliant response.

"But I could come by tomorrow. Maybe around five? I could meet you here. If you wanted, we could go to the park or somewhere it's a little more quite." I knew my face lit up at his words.

"I would love that." Edward grinned again.

"Can't wait." He said softly and opened the door, gesturing for me to go first. I spotted Jasper's car and pointed it out to Edward. "Thank you for coming by today."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer." I glared at the man in the car waiting for me. I knew he could hear us.

Edward's smile seemed to fade a bit when Jasper got out of the car to open my door. His posture stiffened again and he glanced back at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." I was confused. I wasn't sure why there was a sudden change of mood whenever Jasper was around, but I ignored it.

"Thank you for walking me out."

"Any time." He said shortly. He nodded at Jasper and smiled at me, but this smile wasn't the smile I had seen only moments ago. He turned on his heel and walked back inside.

I huffed and stepped around Jasper and into the car. "What did Alice tell you?" He asked as soon as he was inside and buckled, though the buckle wouldn't do anything for him, or me, in the event of a crash.

"Like you couldn't hear?" I didn't say it harsh, but I knew our hearing was far better than humans and we could hear a pretty good distance away.

"Actually no, I went outside for a while, I walked down the street and back. Right before I got to the pathway of the house, I heard crying. I came back in to check that everything was alright."

I studied him carefully as he cranked the car and pulled away. I didn't notice a hint of falseness to his tone.

"Alice didn't say anything that offended me or upset me." Jasper glanced at me when he stopped at the stop sign.

"You were mad at me."

"No I wasn't. I was just…hurt." I saw his face scrunch up like it always does when he is confused. "It doesn't matter." I said before he could ask why. "But what does matter is that Alice loves you."

Jasper gave a small laugh. "I know."

"You're hurting her."

"I know." He sighed. His smile slipping from his lips.

"You can't keep doing this to her. We talked about this last night, we can continue talking about it, but you are only torturing her by not trusting her with our past. She can handle it. If she can handle _what_ we are she can handle _who_ we are. Running from problems will never solve anything." My voice was calm and collected, but I could feel Jasper getting defensive.

"It's not like I mean to do it. It just happens. It's like a natural reaction, she tries to discover things and I try to keep them hidden."

"You don't have anything to be afraid of. You don't have as traumatizing a past as some and you have nothing to hide. You've never been wild and you've only ever taken care of me. How is that something to be ashamed of?"

"I'm not ashamed of you Bella."

"Then what are you ashamed of?" I asked, my voice succumbing to some of the emotion I was feeling.

Jasper stopped the car, parking at headquarters. "Is that what this is about? You think I'm ashamed of you?"

"We all know how difficult I was."

"You were hurt. You weren't thinking correctly. The man you loved used you to help him get the woman he loved. He had no consideration for you."

"He didn't use me." I snapped. I felt as if I were on a rollercoaster. That is what my life has felt like as of recently. I was constantly fighting with Jasper or being upset with Jasper. I was being dramatic.

He turned in his seat, moving himself so he was facing me. "Bella, I wish you would tell me why you're upset. Your emotions have been so crazy lately that it is hard for me to follow."

I knew it was better to just explain to him what I was thinking than keep denying that something was wrong and push him away, like he did with me. "I feel like you don't need me. I feel like no matter what I do, I've never been good enough. You can't open up to me like you try to with Alice, it's hard for you to trust me, and, even after all we have been through, I've never saved you. Not once. You have kept me from so many bad situations and done so many things for me but I never once have for you. Alice does. She doesn't even have to try. She brought you back from the dead the moment you met when I tried for years with no success."

"This is what you talked about with her?" He stretched his hand out, tucking away some stray hair.

"Some of it." Jasper gave me a tender smile.

"Bella, I couldn't have held on as long as I did if it weren't for you. I've never trusted anyone as much as you until I met Alice. But I've never been able to be so free with myself, I've never been okay with who I am and where I come from or been able to express what I actually, honestly feel like I can so easily do with you. I definitely can't do that with Alice. Not yet." Jasper got out of the car and walked around to my side, pulling me out and shutting the door behind me. He placed his hands on my cheeks and ducked his head down until his eyes were level with mine. "There are things that I can do with Alice and only Alice. There are things I can be okay doing with both of you. But there are more things that I cannot do with anyone but you. I have depended on you for so much of my life and you haven't even noticed. That just shows how caring and loving you are, no matter how much I take from you, you give more than I could ever take." He grinned at me. "Bella, you have always seen something in me that I've never seen before, until I met Alice. I didn't think I was capable of falling in love until I met her. Even then, I doubted myself. But there were times I searched for your emotions and found what I need to trust myself as much as you trust me and it made me learn how to love Alice because you gave me the strength when you didn't even know I needed it." He took a deep breath. "So how in the world could you possibly think I don't need you just as much, more in some ways, than I do Alice? You are my little sister. Everything I am now, was made possible because of the love you instilled in me by just being born." He straightened up and pulled me into his arms. "I never told you this, and I made mom swear not to tell you because I wanted to be the one to tell you one day." He pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "I remember the day mom told me I was going to be a big brother. I was beyond ecstatic and immediately helped in everyway I could to make sure everything was ready for you. I knew, without a doubt, that you would be my best friend and I would do everything in my power to protect you. I swore I would love you like no other. I would teach you everything I knew, which wasn't much since I was only three." Jasper grinned and continued. "Every time mom sat down, I was right beside her, laying my head on her stomach and talking to you. If I had my way, I would have done it for hours. But she couldn't sit still long enough, especially close to delivery time. The closer to labor she got, the more I spoke to you. I was moms shadow, I was constantly touching her stomach and I nearly cried every time she had to go to the bathroom and dad made me wait in the hall. I was so attached to you already, I couldn't wait to meet you." Jasper leaned his back against the car beside me. "The day mom went into labor, she was in the living room floor, screaming in pain. Dad was holding her hand and I was pacing back and forth, waiting on the doctor to arrive. Gramms was there, she was in the kitchen drinking tea." Jasper laughed and I couldn't help but let out a giggle. It didn't surprise me that Gramms was be in the kitchen drinking tea as her daughter gave birth. "The doctor finally showed up and by that time, you were already being born. All he really had to do was clean you off. When he announced you were a girl, mom started crying, dad was kissing her cheeks and patting the sweat from her face, and I took off towards the kitchen. I grabbed Gramms, we came into the living room as the doctor was about to place you in moms arms. She looked at me, then back at the doctor and shook her head. She told the doctor to hand you to me first, to let me be the first to hold you. I stood there for a moment, but when the doctor stood and walked towards me, I sat on the floor, holding my arms out so he could place you there. You were crying, you hadn't stopped once, but the moment you were in my arms, you were quite. You stared at me for a moment, then as I was about to hand you to mom, you smiled. I couldn't tell you how strong the urge to keep any sort of harm away from you was. I was three years old and was already plotting to beat any boys that came near you. Mom looked at me and said, "what should we name her?" I blurted out Isabella. Not sure exactly where it came from but feeling it stick when I placed that name with your face. Gramms suggested Marie and mom signed the certificate without ever questioning either name." I looked at Jasper and he was looking straight ahead, a smile on his face. I could tell he was reliving the moments as he explained them to me. "For days, I was the only one who held you for hours without end because anytime you were with mom or dad you would cry. But the moment they gave you back to me, you would stop. Every time. Occasionally you were alright with Gramms holding you, but that was only if I wasn't in the room." Jasper grinned wider. For several moments, the only sound was our breathing and the wind as it whipped passed us and through the leaves of the trees near by. "I'll never forget any of that. Ever." He turned to look at me. "Your first word was my name, although it sounded like 'Yaper' when you said it." Jasper laughed. "You always had a hard time with J's. And you had a lisp up until you were about four or five." He laughed at my expense but I couldn't seem to join in. I was in awe of the way he was speaking about me. Not once had he ever mentioned my birth or any of my childhood really. "Don't be so surprised. Mom knew how much of a leverage we were for each other, so if there was anything she wanted me to do, she would ask you to ask me. And I had to do it to you a time or two." He cocked an eyebrow and looked at me. "I have a feeling it wasn't just you that didn't like Jennet huh?"

I gave him a huge grin and averted my gaze. "Perhaps." Jasper just laughed.

We stayed outside headquarters a few more minutes, just thinking about what all Jasper said. When we saw Marcus peek his head out of his curtain from his window, we decided it was time to go inside.

"Come on." Jasper squatted in front of me as he did the night before. I hopped on his back and laughed when he started galloping towards the doors.

"Is it a new habit to stay in the parking lot an hour after pulling up to reminisce?" Marcus asked with a smile.

"Sorry." Jasper and I said at the same time. Marcus let out a laugh.

"It's quite alright. I actually wanted to see if I could speak to you for a moment Jasper?"

"Sure." Jasper let my feet it the ground. "I'll find you after."

"Alright. I'll probably be in the cafeteria with Rose." I turned and headed to the staircase as I did last night. Sure enough, once I was at my door, Rose walked out.

"Cafateria?"

"Sure." She grinned at me. I threw my bag inside and we walked together to the first floor where the cafeteria was located.

"Jacob has been asking about you all day. Wondering where you were."

"Really?" I knew Jacob and we were friends I suppose, but I wouldn't see why he would be asking for me.

"Honestly Bella, are you that blind. Kid has a crush on you. Bad." We walked into the room and into the line. Just as I was about to respond, I was cut off.

"Hey Bella!" Jacob walked up behind me and Rosalie smirked. I rolled my eyes and turned around.

"Hi Jacob." He looked around for a moment and then smiled at me.

"Where is Jasper?"

"Talking to Marcus again." We took a step forward as the line moved.

"Is he in trouble?" Rose asked as she put an apple on her tray.

"Don't think so. I guess their talking about his case." They both nodded. They knew a little about Jasper and I. Marcus was inhuman like us, and there were about twelve others here too, so they had an idea of what it is we do. As we stepped forward again, Rosalie placed more food on her tray.

"So why don't you have a case Bella?"

I looked behind me at Jacob. "Uh, I guess no one needs my help. That or no one wants me." I said with a snort and turned back around.

"I would want you." He said softly. Well damn. I guess Rose was right; Jacob does have a crush on me.

"How sweet." Rosalie said with a playful sneer at Jacob. He just rolled his eyes. He was used to Rose picking on him. As she was about to turn around, she waved at someone by the door. I turned to see Jasper walking in.

"I'm going to go sit with Paul." Jacob walked quickly over to the table his friend was at.

"Okay." I said, confusion clear in my voice.

"Jacob is terrified of Jasper. He doesn't want him catching on to his crush on you."

"How do you know all this?" I asked as Rosalie started towards a table.

"I pay attention." She said simply and sat down. She unscrewed the cap on her water just as Jasper sat at the table with us. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Marcus just had some questions about Alice. Nothing major." The look Jasper gave me when Rosalie turned away said differently.

"Is that all you're eating?" I asked as Rosalie dumped her tray, still full of food, into the garbage.

"Yeah. I'm really sleepy so I'm just going to skip supper and go to bed. Night guys." She turned and walked out of the room.

"What happened?"

Jasper sighed. "There is this kid that Marcus found out about. He needs help. His mom died and his dad can't be found. He's coming here tomorrow and Marcus wants me to watch over him." I waited for him to say more but he didn't.

"That's horrible for him." I wasn't sure what else to say. Jasper definitely had something on his mind that was upsetting him but I wasn't sure what. I just waited to see if he would say more.

"I feel so awful because I'm not going to be able to see Alice for about a week or two and it frustrates me that I'm the one to have to watch the kid and it makes me mad at myself that I'm being so selfish when this kid just lost his mom and has no where to go. And he is only ten years old. But I can't help but worry about Alice since I'm not going to be there every day."

"The boy needs someone like you Jasper. You will be able to help him more than anyone else can. He needs to have someone he can look up to and I know more than anyone how amazing you are as a big brother." I grinned at him and his lips lifted slightly.

"I just can't stand the thoughts of leaving Alice alone for almost two weeks. At the least."

I fidgeted a moment as he stared at the table. "Um, I could stay with Alice." Jasper's head snapped up. "I mean, only if you want me to."

He stared at me a moment, emotions playing too quickly across his face for me to be able to read them.

"You would do that for me?"

"Are you really asking me that question?" I asked, my tone made it obvious how stupid his question was. "And it's not just for you, it's for Alice too. I know that you don't like the idea of me being alone with Alice but I would love to do this. It would be an excellent way for me to prove myself and I would love to be closer to her."

"Okay."

"Jasper please? I just want to help."

"I know Bella. I said it's fine."

"Just let me do it this once. Just let me prove that I can do this because I know I can and…Okay? You said okay?" I asked as his words dawned on me. I was so used to him telling me no that I just assumed that was what he would say.

"Yes, I said okay." He said with a laugh. "I won't be able to be there and who better to help Alice than you? There are some things I can't do for her that you can. She doesn't really have friends and I know it bothers her. So why deny her this chance? You two get along already."

"Thank you Jasper! I won't let you down I promise!" I flung myself at him and hugged him tightly. He laughed in my ear and squeezed me back.

"I know you won't. You're the only one I could trust Bella. Only you." I pulled back, my smiled stretching across my face so widely I thought I might pull something. I knew the great significance in the words Jasper just spoke about trusting me. He was trying to prove that he does trust me, and allowing me to do it through Alice showed more than trust, it showed faith.

Jasper must have caught on to my thoughts because he gave me a smile and nodded but didn't say anything.

"Should we go to sleep?" I asked. We didn't have to sleep but once a week or so. We could wait longer if we didn't transform so we could be seen by humans.

"I suppose we should. We'll have a busy week." Although that was true, I was excited for it. I've never had to help anyone before since I died and I couldn't wait to get started. "Just be careful with her." Jasper said with a laugh.

Mind reading was something Jasper and I could do. We learned how to shield our thoughts soon after dying and then it just became a habit and soon after it was permanent, though it wasn't a strong shield. If we focused really hard on each other, we could pass through it, no matter how strong the shield. Marcus thinks it's because we are siblings and have known each other for over 150 years. There was no proof; it was just an educated guess.

"I'll wake you up in the morning." Jasper said as we walked through my door. His room was adjoined to mine.

"Alright." I flopped on the bed. Jasper walked over to me, bent, and kissed my forehead.

"Night Bells."

"Night."

"See you in the morning."

"Okay."

Jasper straightened up and walked to his door. "I love you Bells."

"Love you too Jasper."

I was out as soon as he clicked off the lights.

**A/N**

**So, there you have it! A 14 page update. Wow! I've NEVER written a chapter that long. But you guys deserved it since I took a freaking year to update. I'm sorry about that guys!**

**As any other siblings would, Bella and Jasper have over dramatic fights, but the SUPER over dramatic fights should be done with for a while now so you will see their sibling love. **

**My first word was my sisters name so I thought I would let Bella's be her brothers name. I really did have a hard to with J's and had a lisp for a while too. Little family connection there : )**

**I've always wanted a brother like this so I'm glad I get to give someone the brother I want, even if it is a fictional character.**

**PLEASE review guys! They help me so much, you have no idea. Thank you for the one's I've gotten, I appreciate them more than I can tell you. Love you guys!**


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